Hip boot



p 1938. w. J. GRUNER 2,130,682

HIP BOOT Filed June 6, 1936 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 20, 1938 HIP BOOT William J. Gruner, Naugatuck, Conn, assignor to United States Rubber Products, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 6, 1936, Serial No. 83,919

2 Claims. (01. 36-4) This invention relates to hip boots and particularly to rubber hip boots having an improved leg which is manufactured in predetermined leg lengths and may be subsequently altered to a 5 shorter efiective leg length.

In order that a person may wade in the deepest water his length of legs will permit, the boot leg should extend to his crotch but should not wrinkle between his legs or pull at the crotch, as this latter action may cause chafing of the person at such points. The leg length of different persons having the same foot size differ, and it has been necessary to manufacture and carry in stock boots of the same foot size in different leg lengths to fit different persons having such different leg char- 'acteristics.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a boot having an improved top leg construction which when manufactured is adapted to be 20 worn by a person having a predetermined leg length and is adapted to have a portion subsequently removed therefrom to fit a person having a shorter leg but without altering the serviceability of the boot, and thereby reduce the number of boots required to be manufactured and carried on hand by the retailer.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is an elevational view of a left boot taken from above and embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Figure 3 is a top portion of the boot leg shown in Fig. 1 having a portion removed therefrom to alter it so that it will fit a shorter leg of a person.

Referring to Fig. 1, the invention is illustrated herein with reference to a rubber boot I having a substantially straight top edge II provided with a reinforcing bead l2, preferably, of rubber extending around the margin of the top edge portion. The crotch side I2 of the boot leg adjacent to the top edge II is provided with a reinforcement I3, preferably, in the form of a rubber bead having its ends connected to the top bead I2 and defining a crescent-shaped area l5 between the inner edge of the bead I3 and the top edge II of the boot. The boot is provided with the usual lining I6 and rubber layer or layers I1.

The reinforcing bead l2 and the reinforcement l3 facture of the boot. The hip side IB of the boot leg is provided with a top supporting member I9, as shown herein in the form of a buckle, to which a waist or shoulder strap may be attached to hold up the boot top.

As illustrated in Fig. 3 the crescent-shaped area l5 has ben removed along the inner edge of the bead I3 from the top portion of the boot l0 shown in Fig. 1 to alter the boot leg so that it can be worn by a person with shorter legs. In such case the re-inforcing bead I3 isleft in place and together with the remaining portion of the bead I2 reinforces the top edge I I as if the boot had been so constructed at the factory. Also the function of the buckle I 9 is not impaired.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described herein it will be understood that the reinforcement l3 as described herein may be made in one or more piecesprovided with lines thereon lying above the outer or lower margin of the reinforcement for outlining areas of different depths to be cut out in order to accommodate the length of the boot leg to one or more different leg lengths of the wearer, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A boot having a top adapted to extend adjacent to the crotch of the wearer, said top having a reinforcing bead secured to the top margin thereof, a second reinforcing bead secured to said top on the crotch side thereof and connected to the first bead at each end and extending below said top margin, the inner edge of said second bead outlining an area on the crotch side of said top which area may be cut out to shorten the effective length of said top along the crotch side.

2. A boot having a. top adapted to extend adjacent .to the crotch of the wearer, said top having a substantially straight top margin, a reinforcing bead extending around and secured to said margin, and a second reinforcing bead extending from and below the first bead and defining a crescent-shaped area between it and the upper edge of said boot top which may be cut out to shorten the effective length of said top along the crotch side.

WILLIAM J. GRUNER. 

